This takes an apology tour to a whole new level. Okay, they might not be saying sorry, but tobacco companies will soon be owning up hiding the dangers of smoking from consumers with an advertising campaign of “corrective statements”. [More]

It’s been several years since we received some good insider confessions from anyone at Sprint. So in the interest of keeping things up-to-date, a current employee of the wireless provider reached out to Consumerist to see if that original advice still holds true.

Consumerist reader K. recently ended his 4.5 year tenure as a Geek Squad member at Best Buy. And while he says that he considers his time there to be “generally a positive experience,” K. did feel that there is some backstage info the public might want to know.

Debt collection is all about mind games. NotSoDeepSouth blogged about the four magical words that he used to use as a debt collector that acted like a crowbar on people’s wallets, getting formerly relcacitrant people to empty out their pockets.

It’s been more than three years since we received any confessions from an employee at Staples. Thankfully, Staples vet Dave decided to write us with the insights he gleaned from his time at the office supply superstore.

Over at Popular Mechanics, they spoke to an anonymous Apple Store employee to get the inside scoop on what it’s like working at the iPhone emporium. And the main thing he seems to want people to know is that he knows absolutely nothing about what the company is doing next.

One of our readers works sales in an insurance telemarketing operation. He’s stepped forward to give us the skinny on how he gets commission, the real reasons that drive some of their tactics, and what personal information you should never give over the phone to a telemarketer.

An anonymous reader who says he works part-time for Best Buy as a “loss prevention” guy whose job it is to check your receipt as you exit the store writes in to defend his practice. He says doing his job right is not only best for him and the company, but for you, the consumer.

Over at our former sister site Gawker.com, several Walmart employees open up about everything from the reality of “rollbacks” to the poo problem. They also share a handful of helpful tips for Walmart shoppers.

Steven Slater’s dramatic job walk-offslide-down on Monday wouldn’t have been anywhere near as cool if he hadn’t used that escape slide. Another flight attendant named Bobby Laurie, writing about the stress of the job for The Daily Beast, says popping the slide and stealing alcohol are “the two most taboo things in the industry.” He also says he’s fantasized about doing something similar after being forced to deal with angry or obnoxious passengers.

Chase now requires bankers to drag customers waiting for a teller out of line so they can upsell other bank products. One longtime banker wrote in to apologize for the practice, which “blatantly exploits a customer’s trust,” and to encourage customers to call Chase and tell them that they hate it, too. Read the banker’s full heartfelt note, after the jump.

CNN’s Money mag has published ten short confessionals from current and former debt collectors. A guy who’s been doing it for twenty years says that “being authoritative and abrasive was like a high,” and that it helped him provide for his two daughters. A woman who’s been in the business for ten years says she knows collectors who hold contests to see who can make the most people cry each day. Another ten-year veteran quit after a debtor he was harassing shot himself. Yeah, it’s a fun Monday morning read.

When we posted a simple poll about tipping delivery drivers, we had no idea it would garner the kind of mammoth response it did, with folks on both sides of the tipping divide ardently defending their position. In an effort to clear up what he sees as common misconceptions about tipping, Consumerist reader and former delivery guy Justin wrote in to take a sledgehammer to a handful of “myths” about his past profession.

It’s late night at the airport and you’re the only one left standing at the baggage couresel, waiting for your luggage to arrive. The same blue duffel passes you like a broken record. Reality sinks in. Your baggage is lost. Tears form. Then, a rustling of rubber flaps. A form begins to emerge from the wall. Could it be, your lost bag? No, it is a man, a baggage handler man, covered in dust. He pats himself off and plants himself before you and begins a soliloquy. He is here to tell you you the 10 ten things you need to know to keep your bags from getting lost:

Michelle Crouch at Reader’s Digest has compiled another list of secrets that your waiter won’t tell you. Some are just going to make you annoyed, like the waitress who lies for sympathy tips. But there are plenty of useful secrets on the list that might improve your experience the next time you go out to eat.

Out of the shadows steps a dark figure, sporting wrinkled khakis, a retractable namebadge, and a headset dangling from his ear. It’s the telermarketing insider, and he’s going to confess to you how his industry really works and how you can resist and even fight back: